The President's Message

March 2002

Andy Toth

The SIGINFO mail list has been corrupted. Those of you wishing to receive reminders please sign up again at siglist@cipcug.org. This will enable more than one person to send out the notification.

Laura Pacheco has informed the Executive Board that she will be relocating and will not be able to perform that function. Laura has done an excellent job as secretary and was presented with a certificate noting her contributions at the February general meeting. Martha Churchyard has volunteered to be secretary. Welcome aboard, Martha.

Michael Strecker informed me at the February meeting that his months are numbered as Beginners SIG leader at our general meetings. This summer the motor home will be packed, and he and his wife will set off to explore something other than an operating system. Only recently have I ventured into the back room to investigate {O on. Michael was extremely organized and focused. I have seen few people who could answer questions as clearly and concisely as Michael. He definitely has a talent and will be missed. If anyone is interested in leading this SIG please contact me.

Two of my four computers recently died at nearly the same time. Normally this should be no big deal, but the two survivors were my wife’s machine and my work machine. Only a saint can share a machine with his wife, and my work machine is dedicated. With this event, I just realized that my computer is no longer a tool. It is really a necessity. I have always considered it equivalent to a hammer, screwdriver or wrench. As I mentioned before, the only reason I ever purchased one was to maintain my employment. It was three years before I ever used it for e-mail or the Internet (1998). Now I cannot see how I avoided it for so long.

Couple this with moving, loss of high speed interconnection, improper electrical wiring, and shorted telephone wiring, and it makes for an interesting challenge. I am hoping everything will come together by the end of February.